Two Arts
by Incurable Romantic
Summary: A Ranma/Akane with magic in it (literally). *Now Finished*
1. Default Chapter

Prologue ****

Prologue

*Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi created Ranma ½, she owns Ranma ½, and I don't, but I knew that already, so please, don't sue me.

The door closed, Akane plucked down in her favorite chair with a sigh of relief. She had been on her feet since she woke up this morning, five hours ago. There had been a time, a long ways back, she was sure she could remember it, when she had been allowed to sit down to eat breakfast. Once she reached a certain age, it was considered a waste of time. Akane's feet were sore and her arms were tired from the tedious task of organizing the scrolls and spell books on the numerous shelves. She had to do it several times, because her mistress, the one she had been apprenticed to when she was only four, wasn't satisfied with it. Cologne usually left the house earlier, today however, she had stayed, working with her new potion, and making sure Akane was cleaning the kitchen. 

Akane could vaguely remember the time she had spent as a child, playing with her mother and older sisters; their faces were fading now, she had no pictures to refresh her memory. Her mother had died; suddenly she was just gone. Her father, not being used to having the family finances in his hands, spent everything that his wife had managed to save and then some. The family was in bad shape; they were going to loss their house and their business, the dojo. Her father hit upon a brilliant (or so he thought) idea, he would sell something to get the money he needed; there was only one problem, there wasn't anything left to sell. Just when things were looking their blackest, an opportunity arose. Soun Tendo was not the cleverest man in Japan, but he knew that opportunity is not a lengthy visitor and he took the offer. He sold his youngest daughter.

An old witch had been looking for an apprentice to pass along her knowledge, but she couldn't have just anyone, they had to have the gift. This old witch had met Akane Tendo when she came to her for treatment after springing her ankle. Cologne took one look at the vivacious four-year-old and knew that she had it, she had the gift. She fixed Akane's ankle and walked home with her. Once at the Tendo homestead, she went right to the father and laid out her offer plainly. It was a good offer; the amount she offered would pay off all Soun's debts and allow the family money to live off of for more than a year, if used wisely. Soun didn't have any other options, even if he had, he probably still would've taken it. Akane Tendo was sold, put under contract to live and work with Cologne until she was twenty-one. 

At first little Akane had been excited about the idea of becoming a sorceress; who wouldn't want to be able to perform magic, but sadly reality often has little in common with dreams. Akane's life with Cologne was little more then servitude. Everyday she had to wake up early, cook (which she wasn't much good at), clean everything, Cologne demanded her house spotless, and if she finished before it was time to cook the evening meal and Cologne was in the mood, she would learn a little. It was not what she had expected to learn, nothing interesting. She learned how to brew up simple healing potions, for diseases such as chicken pocks and the flu; she could make seeds germinate in less then an hour, useful for gardening, not much else; there were a few other useless things she had been taught. The one interesting thing she had learned hadn't been taught to her be Cologne, she had learned it herself. 

If by chance, there was an evening where she didn't drop from exhaustion the moment she laid her cheek on her pillow, she would read. Her reading matter was not what most sixteen-year-olds read; she would take one of Cologne's spell books from the shelves and learn spells for herself. Of the ones that weren't written in Chinese, only a very few of them were simple enough to learn on her own. She had failed so many times, that she almost gave up. One night she came upon a book (luckily written in Japanese) that had the most fascinating spells in it. There was one in particular that caught her fancy, the shield spell. It wasn't overly complicated and within a few weeks, she had been able to master it. The whole trick to the shield spell was concentration; the shield itself could be conjured with an incantation, but to maintain it, you had to focus on it with your entire being. A single thought about anything besides the shield and it would collapse.

Even with the endless task of keeping house for Cologne, Akane would still end up with huge amounts of pent up energy. She was the kind of person who needed to exercise. She tried several different things; one time she tried jogging, that lasted about a week. It seemed to work really well; she'd get up before Cologne and jog around the town for an hour or so, then return in time to fix breakfast for Cologne. It might have lasted a lot longer then it did, had not some meddling old lady seen Akane jogging and told Cologne. Akane still had a few scars left from that confrontation; Cologne may have been a powerful sorceress, but she was quite willing (at times even eager) to get violent when the mood struck. After the unsuccessful jogging incident, Akane decided that she needed to find a form of exercise that was taxing, but wouldn't attract attention. 

She was washing dishes after supper, when it suddenly hit her; the answer came so abruptly, she nearly dropped the plate she was holding, nearly. Had she actually dropped the plate, she would have a couple more scars. She remembered back to the days when she was still living her happy and carefree life in Nerima with her family. Her father had taught her a few basic moves of the art; not the art that she was supposed to be learning with Cologne, but a different sort of art, martial art. 

The next morning she got up early, carefully sneaked past Cologne's bedroom and into the small building behind the main house. She carefully slid open the door and snuck inside. She slowly began to go through the kata that she had developed when she was four. It began slowly, she had to think very hard about each move, what came next, where did her hands go, her feet. After a few tries, it came faster and faster, she began moving with assurance and by the time she had gone through the routine a dozen times, she could do it perfectly. After she was sure she had it just right, she did it a few more times and went back in, the sun was beginning to rise, another day had begun.

For the next year that was her routine, she'd get up before dawn, go practice in the shed out back, return to do her daily chores, and study spells before she went to sleep. It became normal, she stopped even bothering to remember how unhappy she was, what good could it do her anyway? It was her life and there didn't seem to be any chance of change in the future. Then one day, Cologne said six words that changed the foundation of her world,

"I have a job for you."

*Okay, I know that it's short, but it's a prologue, so just wait until chapter 1, I'll try to make that longer.


	2. Setting Off

Setting Off ****

Setting Off

"A job?" Akane asked, slightly nervous. Most of her "jobs" included doing something unpleasant that Cologne refused to do. 

"Yes," Cologne paced a little, "as you well know, I'm getting on in years."

"Oh Cologne-san, you will out-live all of us."

"Don't interrupt me girl!" Akane bowed her head and muttered,

"Gomen nasai." Cologne made an indistinct noise in her throat and continued,

"I am getting older, that's why I found you to come work for me. These last years I've been testing you. You think perhaps that I was only being hard on you to make you miserable… and before you say something I don't want to hear, yes I do know that's exactly what you've thought, many times." Cologne looked straight into Akane's eyes. "There is one final test you must pass before I can begin to train you in earnest. There is a certain sorcerer I used to know; he is powerful, but his desires often disrupt his ability. But I am getting off-topic; the important thing is that this sorcerer, Happosai, has an apprentice. 

"I have tried to conjure visions of this young man, but for some reason I cannot. There seems to be powerful magic around this boy and I am worried. I need to know what this apprentice is capable of, but to do that, I need you." 

"Why?" 

"Because, although I cannot conjure a vision of him now, I could easily do so if I had a part of him to put in a potion."

"What part mistress?" 

"A hair from his head would be sufficient."

"And so you what me to go get you this hair?"

"Exactly."

"When do I leave?"

"Tomorrow morning, before dawn."

"Yes mistress," Akane said and bowed low. "I hope that I can perform this to your satisfaction." Cologne looked at her, rather coldly and said,

"If you do not get the hair, do not come back." Akane made no answer she simply bowed again.

The next morning, with tendrils of light snaking toward the sky from the east, Akane took a last look at what had been her home for the last twelve years. She turned and walked, at a good, steady pace toward her birthplace, Nerima. When she had heard that the Master Happosai lived in Nerima, a lump formed suddenly in her throat, she had quickly shoved it back down. What did it matter that she was returning to the place where her only family was? Inside of her, where she didn't dare examine, she knew that it meant so much and more. 

It wasn't a long distance to Nerima, a journey of only a few days for most people; Akane walked it in eighteen hours (sleeping not included). She had incredible stamina from all her martial arts practice. The sun was setting on the second day of her journey when she came upon the small sign reading 'Tendo Dojo'. She stopped for a few minutes to collect herself and walked up to the door. Her hand hovered above the wood, she willed herself to knock, but she couldn't. It's impossible to know how long she might have stood there, trying to work up the courage to knock on the door of her old home if she hadn't heard the noises coming from the dojo. 

Akane had always been curious, but her life with Cologne had also taught her caution, so she carefully snuck over to the dojo and peered in a window. The sight she saw almost made her gasp out loud. There was a young man in the dojo and judging by the fluidity of his movement, Akane could tell he was very, very good at what he was doing. She didn't recognize exactly what he has doing, but a few of the moves she thought resembled some of the ones she used. His kata was so smooth and fast. She could barely tell what he was doing he was moving so fast. 

Ranma happened to glance up in the middle of a particularly high kick (he had both feet of the ground) and he saw two warm brown eyes watching him. He was so startled, that his landing was rough, he actually had to put one hand down for balance, and he came close to spraining an ankle. He soon rightened himself and glanced back to those eyes that had given him such a shock; they were no longer there.

"Wait!" He called and ran out after her, catching a glimpse of a girl wearing an odd outfit, it looked like a yellow gi. "Wait!" He called again. "Please come back."

The sound of his voice, so pleading, made Akane turn. Ranma saw this and quickly strode toward her. He reached her and just stood there a moment, drinking in her beauty. He had never seen anyone who could compare. Not that he hadn't seen his share of beautiful girls, he had; god he had them hanging on him where ever he went, it seemed. But the was something different about this one. Maybe it was the way she held herself, or maybe it was the promise of something that seemed to come from her, then again, maybe it was the air of sadness, loneliness. The air that made her seem so mature for her age, the air that he recognized, because he felt the same way.

The two looked into each other's eyes, blue looking into brown. Akane was a mess, her hair hadn't seen the pointy edge of a comb for more then a week, she hadn't bathed since she had left home two days ago, and she had dirt smudges all over her face. She was dirty, smelly, and tired; Ranma thought she looked perfect. Surprising himself even more then he surprised Akane, he slowly brought his hand up to her face. He traced the line of her jaw with the back of his fingers. Then, using the same hand, he tucked a piece of loose hair behind her ear. 

Akane didn't move, she stood there, reminding herself over and over again to breathe in, breathe out. She felt like she was in a dream, maybe that was why she wasn't kicking this guy's ass into the fourth dimension. She had had many problems with guys; they were always all over her, trying to get her to go out with her. "Men are all perverts," she decided one day and vowed never to fall in love. She felt strange. Here was this guy she had never met before; she spied on him and than ran. But here he was right in front of her and now he was stroking her hair?! 

That was exactly what Ranma was doing, he had never seen a shade of hair quite like this girl's before, it wasn't black… really, it was more blue then anything else. He just got this urge to touch her hair and once he touched it, he found he couldn't stop. It was so soft, so silky, his fingers just skimmed through it. He could feel an odd sensation inside his chest, almost as if his heart was racing. But that couldn't be, he had never felt so calm in his entire life. He felt as though he could stay right there forever, just standing there, with this girl… standing there, staring into her eyes.

At the moment, Akane was feeling the same way, she was concentrating completely on the sensation of this wonderfully handsome guy's fingers playing with her hair. If it weren't for the fact that his gaze made it close to impossible even for her to blink, she would have closed her eyes, to better enjoy his touch. But unfortunately, there is a limit to the amount of time two people can spend in perfect bliss and this one too ended. Ranma suddenly felt self-conscientious and snatched his hand back, putting it behind his own head and giving a weak little laugh, to try and cover his embarrassment. Akane's eyes narrowed and she spoke,

"Okay… you have fifteen seconds to tell me why I shouldn't pound you flat for what you just did, or I'll…" she trailed off.

"Pound me flat?" Ranma added helpfully. Akane looked down; a blush spreading over her cheeks as her entire body tingled at the sound of his voice.

"Well, maybe I'll forget the pounding, just this once… if you tell me your name."

"Name's Ranma. Your's?" Ranma was voice was so eager it was almost painful, he knew that this gorgeous girl was going to have the perfect name, a beautiful name.

"Akane." He was right. But of course, I doubt there would have been a single name that he wouldn't have thought beautiful, if it was her's. Ranma found himself staring at her and shook himself, he had to think of something to say; his mind raced.

"Um… I've never seen you before." Akane still refused to meet his eyes, he suddenly found himself wanting very badly to see those brown eyes again.

"That's because I haven't been here for more then ten years."

"Oh? Why not? Nerima's not such a bad spot." He wanted to her to look up.

"It was exactly a matter of choice." She was keeping her answers hazy, trying to make sure that he kept talking, she had to hear his voice again. She asked herself why she wanted to hear it so badly, but as she didn't come up with an answer, she pushed the problem aside.

Ranma was about to reply to this when another voice broke in, "Ranma, where are you? I made lunch, I thought you might be hungry." 

"Kasumi?" Akane's voice was shaky. Ranma looked at her in surprise.

"You know the Tendos?" Akane looked up at him, finally. When she spoke, it was slow, with hesitation, and so quietly he wasn't sure if he had heard her,

"I am a Tendo." Ranma looked at her, but then so did Kasumi, who neatly summed up the entire situation,

"Oh my."

*Okay, well here it is, chapter one, I'm not sure if I like it or not, I really could use a pre-reader, someone who's not afraid to tell me when me writing is shit. I want to explain one thing to you guys, I didn't pick Cologne because I think she's a witch, I picked her because she is the only old woman I know from the mangas and I'm too lazy to come up with original characters and ditto to Happosai. And if you haven't yet figured out that Ranma is Happosai's apprentice, he is. Someone please e-mail me about the pre-reader thing.


	3. Reunion

Reunion ****

Reunion

Kasumi walked up to Akane. Akane stood there, fighting the impulse to run. Kasumi reached out and took her hand. Akane shivered, she wasn't really used to touch. Cologne never touched her if she could help it and she didn't allow anyone else to touch her apprentice either. A thought went through her head, why hadn't she shivered when Ranma had touched her? She didn't know the answer and there were other things to concentrate on at the moment.

"Is it really you Akane?" Kasumi's voice held an air of wonder in it. Akane found herself unable to speak, so she nodded. Kasumi let out a sob and threw her arms around her little sister. "You came home. I always knew you'd come back to us one day."

"Excuse me," said Ranma politely, "but what's going on here?" The two reunited sisters just looked at each other for a minute.

"I think," Kasumi said after a minute, "you both should come inside; there is much to be told and explained." Kasumi headed into the house, followed by Akane, and Ranma walked behind Akane. His mind was spinning and his eyes were glued to Akane, as he watched the way her hair moved as she walked. As for Akane, her mind was none too clear either. Way too many things had just happened in the last ten minutes. And just who was this boy? He and Kasumi obviously knew each other, did that mean he was a relative? She hoped not, she really hoped not. 

Nothing more was said until they were inside. Kasumi told Akane to take a seat and went off to get the rest of the family, she mentioned that it would take some time as both Tendo-san and Nabiki were out and she had to go get them. Akane sat down at the table. Ranma looked over at her, she glanced up and again they felt that peculiar shock, not unpleasant, as they looked into each other's eyes; they quickly looked away. Akane was at a loss, but lucky she didn't have long to sit there and wait in suspense, as Ranma just stood over in the corner. Ranma came over and sat down right next to her. Akane could feel her heart beating faster, she knew a blush was spreading over her cheeks and silently cursed herself for the show of weakness.

Ranma glanced over at Akane quickly and back again. He looked down at his hands and wondered why they seemed to be shaking, a bad sign, for a martial artist. He ran through a few quick relaxation exercises and soon the shaking was under control. Again he glanced over at the girl sitting next to him, he wanted to say something, but at the moment words seemed so… pointless. He could tell that she was upset, funny… he usually was horrible about noticing other's feelings; there was just something about this girl, something he couldn't pin down. 

Akane's nerves were at the breaking point, she was ready to start screaming, or sobbing, or breaking bricks, or something. Instead she moved closer to Ranma a few inches and slowly, slowly, put her head on his shoulder. She rested it timidly for a minute, testing out his reaction… nothing happened. A single quiet sigh escaped her, as she sat there, her head on this wonderful boy's shoulder, the tension beginning to drain out of her. She was so peaceful that she didn't even jump as Ranma slipped an arm across her back and pulled her just the slightest bit closer to him. They sat there for awhile, the fact that this was most peculiar never crossed their minds, but suddenly they heard voices. 

"Kasumi what is it this time?" Akane thought she could tell whom that was, Nabiki. Ranma got up so suddenly that she almost fell over, but she managed to steady herself.

"You'll see when you sit down, we have a guest."

"But I was in middle of a deal," Nabiki complained.

"This is more important, plus I don't like you making deals at your age." Nabiki was silent. Ranma moved across the room, back to his corner, face looking as if it had been out in the sun for way too long, but still staring at Akane.

"My girl what's all this about?" Akane stiffened at the still so familiar voice of her father, Ranma noticed and stared at her even more intently then he had been before. What was going on here? 

"Daddy, please trust me, you'll understand soon." And they walked into the room. Akane looked at the three of them; they looked back at her.

"Hello Daddy," she whispered, Soun broke into sobs and ran to throw his arms around his baby girl who had finally returned to him.

Akane ducked underneath his outstretched arms and easily hopped over the table, causing Ranma's eyes to bug out slightly and Kasumi to gasp a bit. She practiced martial arts. Soun began to wail even harder,

"My little girl has finally returned and she won't even give her old dad a hug!" There was silence in the room for a minute, no sound but the continued wails of the Tendo patriarch. Akane waited until he had calmed down, once he was quiet she spoke, in a voice so small, but so sharp, everyone in the room shuddered,

"And why father should I give you a hug?" There was a shimmering of a battle aura around her, but if anyone had done what Ranma did, they too would have seen the tear forming in her eye. And they would have known what this was costing her.

"Why?"

"Yes, why?"

"Because I'm your father!" Soun was getting angry now. But then, so was Akane.

"You stopped being my father when you sold me to that witch twelve years ago."

"I had no other choice, I had to do something or we all would have starved!"

"You had the dojo."

"I couldn't sell the dojo, it was my only way of making money!"

"And you made so much while we were children."

"Times were hard!"

"You were lazy."

"How dare you say such disrespectful things to your father?"

"I have no respect for you. That's how I dare."

"Akane dear, I want us to get along."

"Do you really expect now, after twelve years to say 'sure father, I missed you, let's be friends and have a great parent/child relationship'? Well do you?" Soun could say nothing. "You have no idea what I went through with Cologne. Years of labor, years of loneliness, years of knowing nothing but misery." With each painful sob of Akane's, Ranma took a step closer to her. "You don't know what I went through, none of you know what I went through!" 

"I know what you went through," whispered a voice in her ear. Ranma was standing behind her, one hand on her shoulder. Akane turned and pressed her face against his chest sobbing. Automatically, his arms went around her and he held her tenderly, but firmly.

"You can't know," she sobbed. "How could you know?" Ranma kissed the top of her head and said,

"I know, because I went through it too." Akane looked up, her eyes shinning with tears, slightly puffy and I little red.

"What do you mean," she asked quietly. Ranma gave a weak grin.

"Because I'm an apprentice too." Akane looked at him. "Apprentice to master Happosai, one of the most hated sorcerers in Japan." Akane shuddered and murmured,

"Happosai? So I've found you." And she buried her face in his shirt again.

*Notes, okay I know, a little out of character for Ranma and Akane, but trust me, I have a great… good… decent explanation of why they're acting this way, but you'll have to wait until the next chapter to discover it. If you have any suggestions, I'd be willing to hear them, I might not pay heed to them, but there you go.


	4. Master Happosai

Master Happosai ****

Master Happosai

Akane was sitting out by the Koi pond, mulling things over. Replaying the last few hours in her mind. Trying to find some answers. As she saw it, there were three main things to figure out. The first one was what to do about her family, more specifically, her father. The second problem to deduce was how to continue with this bizarre relationship that she seemed to be in with the incredible Ranma Saotome. His last name had been one of the things she had learned during the last three hours. She had also learned (to her great relief) that he was **not** related to her in **any** way. Then there was the third issue, which didn't seem as important as it should have at the moment, the task Cologne had assigned her. 

It wouldn't be that hard, she decided. She had already met Happosai's apprentice, the only thing she had to do know was get a hair from him. Something else occurred to her, why did Cologne want that hair so badly. A witch of her renown, the excuse she gave… not able to conjure a vision… flimsy. If she wanted to know what he looked like, she could've just asked me after I returned. Why does she want a hair? Akane had never heard of such a simple spell requiring such a powerful ingredient. A hair is usually only used in dark magic. There aren't many spells requiring a hair that are meant to help that person. "I think I'll just talk to Ranma about it, he might have some idea what this is all about," Akane said quietly to herself.

Ranma sat on the dojo roof, for some reason, the dojo felt more like home then any other place he'd ever been to. He had been coming there for years to learn martial arts from Tendo-san, to be able to protect himself from the extremely rigorous training Master Happosai put him through. This third sister had never been mentioned around him. He had managed to piece together a couple of certain facts from that conversation he had heard and one of them was that this girl was in training to become a sorceress, just like he was. As he looked down at the youngest Tendo daughter a questioned wormed its way into his head, why was it so easy to be close to her? As far as Ranma could remember, he had always been very shy around girls. 

Then why was this one different? Surprisingly, the possible answer came from a memory of one of Happosai's teachings. "Those few who have the gift are different. There are a very small number who are able to learn magic and they have more then just potential in them. Between these few there exists an unspoken bond." Ranma hadn't known what Happosai had meant at the time (he hadn't really listened to the old man anyway) and he still didn't quite understand part of it. Still it was the best explanation he had. If Akane was an apprentice sorceress, that could explain the instant attraction between them. Maybe there really was a bond between them because of the magic. Or maybe he was just a pervert, overcoming his shyness (that bordered on a social disorder) for this incredibly beautiful girl. 

"Nah," muttered Ranma. "That ain't likely. Akane is pretty, but she's got the figure of a tomboy." He sort of regretted his mutterings when a large mallet appeared above him and smashed him through the dojo room. 

"You are such a jerk Ranma!" Ranma painfully blinked open his eyes to find an extremely pissed-off Akane standing in front of him. He thought quickly and spoke carefully. It was an unlucky habit for him to just say whatever came out of him mouth and it was usually kind of insulting, but he didn't want to insult Akane again, for two reasons. 

"I'm sorry Akane. I didn't mean it, I guess I was just trying to protect myself." Akane looked distrustful, for the first time she had met a guy that she felt comfortable with, even happy and suddenly he was insulting her.

"Protect yourself from what?" She asked suspiciously. Weighing his words carefully, Ranma decided that the truth just might work best in this situation and he said,

"From falling in love." Akane's mallet disappeared and she took a step back, her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Again Ranma tried to say something that would put her at ease, the mallet had gone, but he guessed it could come back if he made her mad enough. "That mallet trick's cool. Where'd you learn it?"

"I found it… in a book." Ranma nodded and said again, wanting Akane's forgiveness, although he didn't know why it meant so much to him,

"I'm really sorry Akane, I was acting like a jerk… forgive me?" Ranma's voice was pleading with her and Akane felt the vestiges of her anger wash away.

"Of course." She knelt down and helped Ranma to his feet. "And I'm sorry I malleted you. It was kind of force of habit." She bit her lip and looked at the ground, an arm still around Ranma's waist. Ranma paused a moment before he spoke next, weighing his words. 

"That's okay, I was asking for retaliation, I just didn't think it would come in quite that form." He smiled and put an arm around Akane's shoulders. They hobbled down to the main room where Kasumi looked at them in surprise, but decided not to comment.

Akane carefully helped Ranma lie down on a futon and rushed into the kitchen to get him a glass of water. Kasumi, after doing a quick once-over to make sure nothing was broken went out to do some shopping. Akane returned with the water. She walked over to Ranma and knelt down beside him. Ranma took the glass and downed it in one gulp. He set the empty glass on the floor and turned to look at Akane. 

She was looking at him as well. They didn't say anything to each other. They both thought they were speaking, as their minds were flooded with questions to ask the other, but they stayed silent. Finally Ranma managed a small sentence.

"I've never met anyone like you before," he said. 

"It's like I've known you all my life," Akane murmured at the same moment. The two looked at each other and blushed a bit, but they smiled too. They would've said more except for the fact that Akane was suddenly seized around the chest from behind by two small, withered, and extremely strong hands. Her eyes widened and she turned her head wildly right and then left, trying to see who it was. 

"Get off of Akane!" Shouted Ranma and suddenly the grip around Akane's chest loosened and finally disappeared. A short, wrinkled man appeared in front of her, staring into her face intently.

"So this is Akane Tendo, is it? The apprentice to that sorceress Cologne huh?" Akane didn't say anything and simply stared at the tiny old man. He must have been close to Cologne's age, possibly older. She had never expected to meet anyone even close to the age of her mistress, maybe having the gift allowed you to get really old. "How is dear old Cologne?" Happosai continued. "We have history together, me and her, we go a long way back. Yep, she wanted me." 

"Master Happosai, were you looking for me?" Ranma asked. Happosai glanced over his shoulder at Ranma.

"What? You still here? Can't you see I'm talking to this intriguing and beautiful young lady? Go away boy you're beginning to bother me." With that, Happosai leapt upon Akane's breasts, gave them a good squeeze, and departed before Akane had the chance to smash him to a bloody pulp, which she would have done if she'd had the chance.

"Akane, I am so sorry," Ranma said as he hung his head in shame. "I will get back at that old lecher if it's the last thing I do." Akane impulsively grabbed his hand.

"Oh, don't do anything that will get you into trouble." Ranma nodded, but Akane noticed that he didn't say he wouldn't. 

"Did he hurt you?" He said instead.

"No, not at all, just sprained my dignity." 

"Well, that's good," he paused for a minute. "So, who's this Cologne chick?" Akane gave a small laugh.

"I wouldn't exactly call her a chick. She's not much younger then Happosai, maybe even older then him." Akane gave another laugh to see Ranma's expression, then she continued in a more serious vein, "She's my mistress and a very powerful witch."

"I wonder if she's more powerful than Happosai," asked Ranma.

"Well, judging from the way she spoke of him, I think she's just the same as him, ability wise, but she said something about his desires blocking the way he uses his abilities."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." 

"Does he do that to ever girl he sees?"

"Just about, yeah," answered Ranma in a tone of deep disgust. It took him a moment to get control of his emotions, but when he had he turned to Akane with one of his butter-melting smiles and said, "So where were we?" Akane smiled and they began to talk, about everything, nothing, and all the things in-between.

*Okay here come my notes. The characters might be a bit ooc, but remember this is an alternate reality and their respective backgrounds might have influenced them, Ranma didn't spend ten years training in the wilderness, he spent it working with Happosai and trying not to turn into him. Akane as well, is not quite as violent as she is in the mangas because she never had as much reason to be. I don't know why I feel that I must explain myself to you, but I do, so… there you have it. And yes, somewhere in this story magic will show up, I just prefer the romance side of it. Till we meet again, farewell.


	5. Secrets Revealed

Secrets Revealed ****

Secrets Revealed

The next few days passed smoothly. Akane caught up on the family history from the last twelve years, including Ranma's history. Ranma had been seven when Kasumi had found him in the middle of the street. He had fainted, which wasn't all that surprising considering he had black-and-blue marks all over his body. Someone had beaten him up bad, but he never told Kasumi who had done it. Kasumi, the motherly thing that she was even then, had brought the young boy back to the dojo and fixed him up. It only took a few days for Ranma to get back on his feet and asking to leave.

Tendo-san offered, out of the kindness of his heart for once, to teach the boy a few defensive moves, so that he wouldn't get beat up again. The boy took up the offer so quickly that it was only a few minutes before the two of them were in the dojo. Ranma was a natural and he learned techniques as fast as Tendo-san could teach them to him. By the time Ranma was twelve, he could beat Tendo-san in sparring matches. They had, several times, offered to let Ranma stay with them, but Ranma refused, saying that his master would want him at night. 

This was still the excuse he gave when Nabiki playfully offered him the spare futon the day after Akane's first meeting with Happosai. He wanting to say yes, it was painfully obvious to Nabiki that he wanted to say yes, although it completely escaped Akane's notice. He spent several tense moments in what appeared to be an intense internal struggle, but after those moments were over, he only said that his master would need him at night. Akane began to wonder why Ranma had to be at home at night, but not during the day. 

It was easy to see that he was free the entire day. He spent all of it at the Tendo household. Everyone except Akane could tell that he came there to be with the youngest Tendo daughter. Kasumi thought it was sweet, though perhaps not entirely appropriate and Nabiki was glad to see her sister happy after so many years of loneliness. As for Soun, he was kind of torn; on one hand, it was his daughter's happiness, on the other hand, she wasn't really his daughter. 

One day, Ranma and Akane had gone for a walk, ending up in a beautiful, big, open field. Akane began to pick clovers and Ranma was practicing a few spells. After gathering all the clovers she needed, Akane sat down and starting to make a crown out of them. She began to think, the wheels turning in her head. She had many questions that she wanted answered, most of them about Ranma (she had not really forgotten about Cologne, she just wanted to forget about her). 'After all,' she rationalized, 'she didn't give me a time limit.' From earlier conversations with Ranma, she had learned that Happosai never required his presence during the day, for Happosai was never there during the day. What he did all day Ranma either didn't know or didn't want to tell. So Ranma split his day between the Tendo's dojo and studying magic by himself from Happosai's scrolls of spells. As a result Ranma knew less magic than Akane, but he was much better at martial arts. 

The thing Akane didn't know and wanted to know was what did Happosai require from Ranma at night? It wasn't her place to ask and she wasn't sure if she wanted to know or not, but the question still tickled her mind. Ranma in the mean time was working on his repealing spell, it needed a lot of work. The spell was not a difficult one, but it needed extreme concentration and with Akane so near, he kept losing his concentration. Finally he just gave up.

He came over to where Akane was still braiding together clovers and stretched out on his stomach. Akane glanced over at him and caught herself smiling again. She kept doing that, it was like she couldn't control her face muscles around him. Akane had thought out a great many things in the last few days, but the one subject she refused to touch was her feelings for this boy sitting right next to her. She gave a mental sigh, it would have been silly to really sigh, and stretched out on her back, hands behind her head. 

Ranma glanced over at her, but refused to let the thoughts that surfaced fill his head. He had known this girl less than a week and she already seemed like… that's where he stopped himself. It wouldn't do to fall in love with a girl who would be leaving in a little while. Like Ranma she was bound to her mistress until she was eighteen and two years is a long… wait, had he just thought… 

"No, I'm not falling in love," he whispered.

"Hmmm what was that?" Akane looked over at Ranma, he was so gorgous, but she would be leaving soon and he would be staying. 'Don't do anything stupid now girl, it would be just like you to go and fall in love with this boy,' she thought to herself.

"Nothing, just talking to myself." Akane smiled again and Ranma had to turn away to hide the slight reddening of his cheeks. Akane looked back up at the sky and remarked,

"Looks like it might rain." The next few seconds went by in a blur. Ranma jumped up, Akane's body moved into defense mode, she crouched to the ground and her shield grew around her. It was quite a sight, the incandescent dome reached to about six feet the highest point, it was a dazzling gold, and if someone was to look carefully enough, they would see shapes of dragons, three-headed dogs, and many other classic beasts of protection. Ranma however, didn't even notice the dome behind him, he was scanning the skies, and came to the conclusion that Akane was right.

"Damn!" He shouted, Akane's shield dissolved as soon as she realised that there was no danger. She looked over at Ranma curiously.

"What's wrong? It's just a bit of rain." 

"Let's just say," said Ranma tersely, "that I really don't like getting wet." Ranma spun around thinking fast; there was no way he was going to find shelter soon enough. There were already a few sporadic drops coming down. It had taken them a half an hour to get here, even if he ran… "Damn!" 

"Ranma what is it!" Akane didn't understand what was going on, so she did the easiest thing, she got mad. Ranma spun to face her. Akane gasped, his eyes were wide and had a look in them that spoke of being chased by something deadly.

"Akane, you have to understand something." He paused. "When I get wet, strange things happen… really strange things."

"I don't understand."

"Damn!" He shouted for the third time, as the rain started to come down harder. He grabbed Akane and whispered fiercely, "Promise me, promise me that whatever you see… you won't hate me for it." 

"Ranma, how could I ever hate you?" He shook her shoulders.

"Just promise!" Akane was beginning to get scared, she realized just how powerful Ranma was, she noticed that her throat was very dry.

"I promise Ranma, I promise." And the skies really opened up.

Before Akane's eyes, Ranma began to shrink. His hair chanced from black to bright red, albeit damp. His chest got, larger, while at the same time got narrower. He was turning into a…

"A girl." Ranma's voice was dejected. He looked away from Akane, not wanting to see the disgust that he knew would be written all over her face. Nothing happened and he chanced a glance back at her. She was surprised, that was certain, but she didn't seem disgusted. No, it was almost as if she was intrigued.

"That's a cool little spell." Ranma was amazed at the tone of her voice, she was… impressed. He, or she at the moment, was taken aback.

"You don't find this disgusting, disturbing, awful?" Akane gave a little laugh. 

"Oh come on Ranma, we're both apprenticed to sorcerers, do you expect me to start screaming or something? This is strange yes, but I've seen worse. Cologne put a curse on her own granddaughter. She disobeyed an order, so she gave her a curse similar to yours, except Shampoo becomes a cat when she gets wet. She left to seek a cure." Akane grew silent for a moment. "Did you get this from Happosai?" Ranma nodded.

"He has this… condition. He's addicted to groping. If for some reason he isn't able to grope some unsuspecting female on the street, he comes to me at night. He throws a glass of water on me and…" Ranma couldn't finish, but the shudder accompanying his words told Akane all she needed to know. "Its disgusting having that old man nuzzle up to my breasts. I'm not even supposed to have them! So it's wrong in two ways. Just glad that the old fart never got it into his head to try anything else." Akane just hugged him/her tight, fighting back tears of sympathy. 

"That's why I have to keep training. The old man is not a martial artist, but he was when he was younger and he can remember a lot. He used to beat me good when he wanted to. That's why I have to train! I have to be better then him! So that… if he… tries anything… I'll be ready for him." 

Ranma looked down at Akane as he realized, for the first time that she was there. His/her expression softened for a moment and his/her anger left, but then he/she asked, "Doesn't it bother you?" Akane let go and took a step back, looking down into the face that was so similar to the one she was used to looking up into.

"Doesn't what bother me?" Ranma gestured at his/her body.

"Hugging me when I'm… like this?" 

"Why should it? You're still the same guy." She got a mischievous grin on her face. "Only now we can share each other's clothes. Well," she looked Ranma up and down. "maybe not, you seem to be… a little better… endowed than me." 

"You're not so badly endowed." Ranma blushed, Akane blushed, the rain stopped. 

"Come on Ranma, let's go home and change you back." She stopped. "You can change back right?" She slapped her forehead. "What am I saying? Of course you can, it's all a matter of how to change you back."

"Hot water reverses the… um… effects." 

"Great, then let's get going." And they headed back to the Tendo's. 

*Okay, I really have no notes this time, really easy chapter to write somehow, I just sat down and it sort of… happened. Well, if the last few days are any indication, you should be seeing the next chapter fairly soon and I might even work in another character or two, possibly… Ryoga (but let's keep that on the DL until I'm sure.)


	6. Pig Boy

Pig Boy ****

Pig Boy

The next day, Akane and Ranma sat side by side at the koi pond. They didn't look at each other and they didn't speak, but their thoughts weren't on meditation. They gazed at the fish in the pond, but in their minds they were gazing into each other's eyes. Their hands were on the ground and they just happened to be touching ever so slightly. Akane was getting worried, she still hadn't told Ranma the real reason she had come home. She knew that she couldn't stay in Nerima much longer. Cologne hadn't given her a deadline, but she knew from many years of experience that it wasn't wise to test the sorceress's patience. 

She turned to look at Ranma, or rather at his profile. She opened her mouth and was about to say something when she realized she didn't know what to say. She closed her mouth again and turned away again, composing herself. Once she had gone over what she would say, she wanted to make sure it didn't sound too stupid or unbelievable, she turned once more to Ranma. This time he faced her as well. He could sense her nervousness and wondered what was so important. Once more, she opened her mouth and was about to speak, but suddenly a large object hurdled into the yard and landed with a splash in the koi pond. Akane got soaked and seeing Ranma's now red hair, she noticed he had gotten wet too. 

A little black piglet crawled out of the pond and collapsed on the ground. Akane blinked at it in surprise. 

"I thought I saw a boy land in the pond," she said simply. Ranma couldn't help himself, he grinned widely. 

"Oh you did Akane." The piglet got up and looked at the two of them sitting there, he didn't spare a second glance on the red-head who's thin shirt was very wet and clinging to her body. His gaze was fixed upon the somewhat bewildered girl with the dark hair and the expressive eyes. "This is another victim of Happosai's thoughtlessness." Akane's eyes widened even more. 

"So this is a guy."

"Yes, this is my best friend, Hibiki Ryoga. He… sort of got in Happosai's way, while he was trying to… collect some… souvenirs." Akane didn't understand.

"Okay, so why did he curse him?"

"He wasn't supposed to have… those particular… souvenirs. They weren't his to… collect and there were a couple angry… young women, who were trying to… beat his brains in." Akane blinked and decided that maybe she didn't want to know what sort of souvenirs the old goat had been collecting. 

"I'll go get some hot water and then you can introduce me properly. I would like to meet the man who's brave enough to be your best friend." She was smiling, so Ranma knew she was kidding. He/she looked more then a little amused and replied,

"Well… he might have a slightly different version of our relationship. Basically something to the extent of… 'Because of you I have seen hell!' Oh and be sure to bring enough water for me too." Akane kneeled down in front of him/her and whispered,

"I wouldn't think of anything else. I prefer you in your real form." Ranma wasn't quite sure what to make of that, so for good measure he/she blushed and looked away as Akane left. 

He/she threw himself/herself to the ground next to the little pig. He proceeded to tell Ryoga most of what had happened over the last week or so, starting with the surprise sighting in the dojo and emphasizing the wonderful way she took it in stride when she found out about his girl side. 

"Oh Ryoga, you have no idea what she's like. I never thought I'd meet anyone like this, so understanding, so amusing, so friendly, yet so strong-willed. Such a different person from the other girls I knew before. She is…" But what she was Ryoga never found out, because Akane returned right then, with a tea kettle. She first poured half of the water over Ranma and then handed the kettle to him as she turned her back. 

Ranma smiled at her thoughtfulness as he poured the remainder of the water over his best friend and handed him a pair of pants, which he got from Ryoga's bag that had also landed in the koi pond. As soon as Ryoga was decent, Ranma told Akane she could look. Akane immediately greeted Ryoga.

"Konnichiwa Hibiki-san, it is a great pleasure to meet you." Ryoga stammered something unintelligible and mentally cursed Ranma for his eternal luck, for it was obvious that these two had something between them. 

"Well Ryoga old pal, it's been a long time hasn't it?" 

"Yes, well… I would have been back sooner, but… well, I had some things I had to take care of." Ranma laughed.

"So where did you end up this time?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." He paused for a minute and said, "Some shrine on a mountain. I met this old priest, he taught me a new technique, so next time we spar, I'll be able to beat you." 

"That's not very likely, but you're welcome to try, as always." Akane was getting rather confused and as she wasn't one who liked being in the dark about things she said,

"What are you two talking about?" Ranma glanced at Ryoga, asking for permission to explain, but Ryoga nodded no, but Ranma told her anyway.

"He has the worst sense of direction that you'll ever find. He can't find his way out of a room with an open door. He'll end up wandering lost for weeks and sometimes months at a time."

"Oh how awful." Akane's face was so full of sympathy that Ryoga couldn't look at it.

"Well, it's not all bad, I get to see a lot of new places, meet new people."

"But doesn't it get very lonely?" Akane, without thinking about it, took one of his hands; Ryoga could suddenly feel his heart thumping very loudly.

"Yes… sometimes… but…" Ryoga removed his hand very gently from hers. Ranma broke in,

"Me and him are always sparring; he's the only guy I've ever met that could really give me a challenge." He had to add one more thing. "He still hasn't beaten me yet though." Ryoga was going to retort to that, but Akane did it for him.

"Yeah, don't be so cocky, it's probably only a matter of time before he does." Akane turned to Ryoga and smiled, one of her cutest (although she didn't know that) "He's so full of himself, don't let it get to you." He just stared at her, she was beautiful… still in a weird sort of way, Ranma was his friend and he couldn't… he stood up.

"I need to get going. I'll see you around sometime Ranma."

"Do you need me to take you anywhere?" Ryoga shook his head.

"No!" He shouted, "I'll be fine!" Ranma stood up with Ryoga. 

"I'll just make sure you can find your way out of the yard." Ryoga glared at him. Akane started to get back up but Ryoga said, 

"Oh don't bother, it'll only be a minute." So Akane sat back down.

Ryoga waited until they were out of eyeshot when he said, "You are a lucky son of bitch do you know that? If I could have half your luck with women I'd be a happy man. That Akane is something else, she's beautiful and…" he trailed off. "Damn it Ranma! Just make sure you treat this one right." Ranma was stunned.

"You think there's something between us? Ha, laughable." Ryoga grabbed the front of his shirt and shook him a little, a slight glow of his battle aura starting.

"Don't even joke about that. I can practically see the love radiating from the two of you. Don't you even consider making fun of this! You are so damn lucky. Do you know that? A wonderful girl like that and all you can do is laugh?" Ryoga let go of Ranma and turned away in disgust. "I guess you don't deserve her then. Too bad she loves you." He walked away then, leaving behind a befuddled and strangely happy Ranma. He had never let himself admit that he might love Akane, he was afraid about what that might mean. But now, with the truth so forcibly shoved under his eyes, he finally realized that he did love her and that she might just love him back.

*Well, this chapter wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be. But before any of you complain about Ryoga's lack of violence just remember, this is an alternate fic and it's characters will be different. Hopefully I will be able to put more waff in the next chapter.


	7. The Follies of Following

The Follies of Following ****

The Follies of Following

Akane was confused, ever since the day that Ryoga had shown up (in the koi pond) Ranma had been acting strange. The easy camaraderie they had been feeling around each other vanished. Every time Akane got close to him, he seemed to stiffen up and become… embarrassed or something. She couldn't understand it at all. They had been getting along so well; he was the friend that she had always wanted the years she had been alone. She watched him; he was perched on this post in the yard. She watched him as he glanced over at her over his shoulder, their eyes met, and his gaze quickly snapped back to where he had been looking before. 

Nabiki had been watching both of them. In fact she had been watching them for some time now. Always loyal to her family, Nabiki had become protective of her little sister the day she had arrived. She loved catching the two of them together. They usually didn't notice what they were doing, simply seeming to come together naturally. It was like they were two halves and only felt whole when close to one another. Chiding herself, Nabiki wondered if she was becoming a total sentimental fool, two halves of a whole, honestly.

She had of course overheard Ranma and Ryoga's private conversation. It was her knack, being at the right place when something important was being said. Afterwards she had kept a more-then-usually-close eye on her father's student. It was not hard to spot the difference. Now that Ranma was aware of his feelings, he was trying to bury them. Several times Nabiki had almost chuckled while watching his antics. The urge to laugh was almost always checked however, upon noticing how hard her sister was taking his uneasiness around her. But enough of this, she thought, I have business. She grabbed her bag, slung it neatly over her shoulder, and headed out. 

Akane heard a rustling noise and glanced over her shoulder. Seeing her sister heading towards the village, she decided to follow her, because well… what else did she have to do? Glancing over his shoulder again, Ranma saw Akane leaving. He jumped up and followed her, making sure that she didn't see. He quickly noticed Nabiki and realized that Akane was trailing her, he didn't know why, but he didn't really care. But where was Nabiki going? There was nothing in this part of Nerima that she would be interested in. Unless… Ranma almost swore, but he managed to catch himself. She had better not be going there, though he didn't see why she would be, still, she'd better not.

Nabiki stopped in front of a huge house, she knocked and a servant answered the door.

"Hello," Nabiki said politely. "Is Kuno Kodachi in?" The old servant quailed slightly, Ranma did swear this time, and Akane looked mildly curious.

"Yes she is, who shall I say is here?"

"Tendo Nabiki." Nodding, the servant retreated back into the house. Once he was out-of-sight, Ranma jumped down, startling both girls, and began lecturing Nabiki,

"What the hell are you doing? Are you insane, why are you hear and why would you want to talk to Kodachi? What are you expecting to happen? My guess is that she'll tear you to pieces, or maybe feed you to her alligator." 

"Listen Ranma," said Nabiki in a cold voice. "Whatever I'm doing here is my business, not yours all right. And I'll tell you why I'm here even though it's not your concern. I'm here on business, next to her brother, Kodachi is one of my best customers.

"What exactly do you sell her." Nabiki said nothing, but the flash in her eyes was enough to tell him that it really wasn't any of his business. All of a sudden he felt a hand on his arm and turned to see Akane's face, with a look of concern and curiosity in her eyes.

"What's so awful about this Kodachi?" Ranma could only manage to stutter out some random gibberish, Akane was now more concerned about his sanity then Kodachi's. Nabiki rolled her eyes and muttered,

"Honesty, he's as bad as Dr. Tofu." Ranma quickly pulled himself together after hearing that. Nabiki turned to Akane, cool as ever. "There's nothing so bad about Kodachi, she's just a little over-the-top. Ranma's problem is that she's decided she's in love with him and won't give him a moments peace when she's near him." Akane was still a bit confounded and Nabiki clarified. "She wants him. She's almost as bad as her brother."

"What does her brother do?" Smirking, Nabiki glanced over at Ranma, 

"You want to answer that one 'pig-tailed goddess'?" Ranma just shuddered and Nabiki went on. "He fell for Ranma's girl half and nothing can convince him that they're the same person. You see," continued Nabiki conspiratorially, "Kuno isn't all that bright, even if he is rich." Ranma snorted at that, Akane felt compassion for Ranma, what he had to go through, what with Happosai and now Kuno, she took his hand and gave it a squeeze, Ranma looked down at her hand and felt the color rise in his cheeks.

All in all, Akane was slightly nervous when the door re-opened. There stood one of the most bizarre sights she had ever seen. A girl of about her age, dressed all in black and carrying a ribbon. She might have been less odd then she was, if she had kept her mouth shut. But the moment she saw Nabiki a horrid noise broke from her. It took several minutes for Akane to realize that she was laughing, then she stopped.

Her eyes fell on Ranma, then moved to the girl whose hand was intertwined with his. An insane jealousy flamed up inside of her. Ranma was hers! Noticing where Kodachi's eyes were fixed, Ranma felt a knot of fear harden in his stomach.

"Akane move!" He pulled her to the ground just as the black ribbon in Kodachi's hand whipped toward her. Akane's survival instinct kicked in and so did her shield spell, the shimmering dome flashed into existence.

The girl in black attacked the dome again and again, but it was no good, her ribbon couldn't get through. Inside, Akane was oblivious to the position she was in. Ranma however, noticed it, as was evident by the dark blush spread over his face. He leaned over her both of them curled so the shield could cover them. Akane knew, in some part of her mind, that Ranma was there, but to maintain the shield she had to concentrate completely on it. 'Okay Ranma, calm down, just calm down and then we can find a way to deal with Kodachi,' thought Ranma. Then from somewhere deep inside his mind, another voice arose. 'Heh, lucky dog, how many guys get to be where you are? Lying on top of a beautiful girl, who doesn't seem to mind that you're there. You know what you should do now? You should kiss her.' Ranma tried to push the voice away, buy only succeeded in pushing himself out of the shield dome. 

Seeing Ranma come out of the dome, Kodachi stopped attacking it and threw herself at him. He saw her coming toward him and with a final glance at Akane, decided that retreat was the best option. Nabiki smirked as Ranma ran out of there as fast as he could, but her eyes were drawn back to the golden dome encasing her sister. Maybe this wasn't the best day to talk to Kodachi. She saw the dome flicker and die, so she grabbed Akane's hand and pulled her away, leaving Kodachi behind bemoaning the fact that her Ranma had once again been stolen from her. Her eyes narrowed and she mentally added this new girl to her list of who deserved to be horribly mutilated, then she let out one more insane laugh and went back to feeding her alligator.

Nabiki soon realized that Akane was exhausted. She stumbled along and a couple of times Nabiki had to help her up when she sort of collapsed to the ground. 

"Sorry Nabiki, but I'm not used to keeping the shield up for that long." She was speaking so quietly that Nabiki couldn't really hear her. She tried to tell Akane that it was all right, but she wasn't sure what she said because she was keeping an eye out for Ranma, knowing that he'd come to find them soon. At least, she hoped he would, because it didn't look like Akane was going to get home without help.

Ranma was almost back to the dojo when he realized that he should be somewhere else, namely finding Akane and Nabiki, for all he knew they could be hanging upside down above some pool of acid. (Ranma really believed that there was no limit to Kodachi's madness.) So Ranma headed back in the direction he had just been fleeing. He flashed past a couple people, then another group and then two sisters… a few yards backtracked and Ranma grinned at Nabiki.

"Help me," she grunted. "I can't hold her anymore." Ranma grabbed Akane as she slipped.

"Is she hurt? What happened? Why the hell did I run off? If anything happens to her…" Nabiki broke into his frenzied tirade,

"She's fine, just exhausted. She said something about keeping the shield up too long." Ranma took a few deep breaths, put an arm under Akane's knees, another around her shoulders, picked her up, and said,

"I've read about that spell, it's very hard to keep up over a long period of time, she's sapped all her energy." He looked tenderly down at her; she groggily opened her eyes. Upon seeing him, she gave a weak smile. "Silly, what made you do that? Don't you know what it does to you?" Saying nothing, she really didn't have the energy for it, Akane just smiled again and closed her eyes. "Come on Nabiki, let's get her home."

After they had gone a ways up the road, Ranma asked, "What made you go to the Kuno's? That was really stupid of you." 

"I told you, I was going there on business." Ranma looked like he was going to say something and Nabiki felt that whatever it was, she wasn't going to like it much, so she kept talking. "Everything would have been fine if you hadn't shown up! I go over there often enough, if you had just had the sense not to show up!"

"Well if Akane hadn't followed you-"

"So you were following my sister were you?" Ranma eeped. "And why exactly were you doing that?" Ranma muttered something about just being curious. Nabiki smirked; she had won this round. 

Ranma was again fighting with the internal voice in his head. It kept telling him that now was the time. Now he could just lean down and kiss her. Go on boy kiss her! It kept screaming at him. What with one thing and another, Ranma was very glad when they got back and he could escape to go think things over, after gently placing Akane in her bed of course.

*Author's notes This took forever to write, although I had written it out longhand awhile ago, I just never got around to typing it up and then the characters where ooc and then fanfiction.net went down and then… well you get the picture. I'm not quite sure where to go from here, I know how this will end, but my writing style is just sort of typing whatever pops into my head. Outline? What is this outline you speak of? Well, read and review and go easy on me. 


	8. The Amazon

****

The Amazon

Two months had passed by since Akane had shown up in Nerima and things seemed to be getting into some sort of order. True, Akane felt guilty for not telling her friend about her real reason for being there, Ranma was still playing a losing game with his hormones, and Master Happosai was showing up every now and then in order to grope Akane. It was a gentle calm day. Akane was sitting outside trying to find just the right words to explain to Ranma about everything, but somehow, "hey Ranma, I think I'm supposed to be the instrument of your doom," didn't sound right. Ranma not surprisingly, was nearby, but out of sight. He watched her intently as she shifted from side to side; occasionally making hand gestures that made no sense to him at all. He had almost made up his mind to go down nonchalantly and ask her what was up when someone else suddenly appeared. 

Akane saw her at the exact same moment as Ranma did. Not really hard to do considering that this figure was rather hard to miss. A violet-haired girl, in a rather breath-taking outfit stood in the Tendo's yard. She was twirling expertly a pair of bon-buris that looked as if they could do some real damage. As soon as the girl caught sight of Akane alone, she put away the weaponry and came over to the girl sitting there in almost astonishment.

"Well, look time no see Shampoo." The casual tone of voice effectively the confusion Akane was feeling. 

"Please, no call Shampoo, name is Shan Pu." The girl's voice was majestic, she seemed terribly out of place in the back yard of a Japanese home, she should've been in a palace somewhere, being worshipped by thousands.

"Fine, Shan Pu. So why are you here Shan Pu, as if I can't guess." Her confusion had all but evaporated, she knew why Shampoo was here; her grandmother had sent her. 

Ranma had been about to come down, but figured that since the girl didn't seem to be any immediate danger to Akane, he might learn more just sitting and watching. The word 'eavesdropper" never came to mind. But perhaps that's not so surprising, considering who he was raised by.

"Shan Pu come because Grandmother is curious as to why you no come back yet." Akane sighed, looking away from the Shampoo. 

"You have a family right Shan Pu?" An odd question to ask of a girl she had known for almost a decade, but still.

"Yes, Shan Pu have Grandmother, and father, and…" Seeing Shampoo ready to list her entire family, which if Akane's memory was correct, was rather extensive, she broke in,

"I get the point. The thing is Shan…" She trailed off for a moment, looking down at her hands. "I haven't had a family for so many years and now I came back here." She looked up, right into those stunning purple eyes. "If Ranma had been anywhere else but Nerima, I would have been back in a day, maybe two."

Ranma was so stunned upon hearing his named mentioned that he missed part of the next thing she said, "… my family. Do you know what it means to me Shan, to be back here, with my sisters, and even that idiot father of mine? Can you have any idea?" It felt distinctly bizarre, opening up to this girl. Despite the fact that they had known each other for so long, (Shan Pu had come to visit her grandmother more times than Akane could count) they had never had a real connection to each other. They most definitely hadn't been friends.

Akane was no better then a servant to the other girl. Taken in the perspective of a seven-year-old girl, it's not hard to understand. Every time Shampoo had come to visit her grandmother, (including that one disastrous visit that had ended in Shampoo's little cat curse…) she had seen Akane running around being Cologne's go-for. She had treated her in the way she thought she ought to treat her and Akane in return become rather wary of this girl, with so many tricks. They had at times gotten into those fights that children always seem to get in for one reason or another and Shampoo was by far the better of the two. 

Snapping out of her reverie, Akane stared hard at the beautiful girl in front of her, trying to see if she had any idea of what she was talking about. The bosomy girl was silent for a moment. Suddenly she nodded vigorously.

"Shan Pu understand, but Grandmother wishes know when you will be back with hair of Happosai's apprentice. She say potion almost ready."

"I still don't understand why I can't just tell her about Ranma, I mean, I've gotten to know him pretty well over the last two months."

"Shan Pu don't know. She learned that is better not to poke nose in what Grandmother do, last time did that, it not go so good." Akane almost smiled.

"Yeah, good point. Tell her… tell her I'll be back before the end of the month."

"Shan Pu going to stay here for a couple days, to check on Akane. She has friend here she stay with. Will be back tomorrow." And with that Shampoo bounced out of the yard and was gone. 

"Hello Akane." Akane gave half a scream as Ranma suddenly appeared next to her.

"Ranma, you almost killed me with fright." 

"Why are you here Akane?" Scared by the glint in his eyes as he said this, Akane chose her next words very carefully.

"I wanted to tell you Ranma. But I just could never find the right time." Ranma sat next to her.

"Now is good for me." Akane wanted to start sobbing and just throw her arms around his neck. She was rather unnerved actually, by the sudden flood of something inside of her. She felt something inside her that made her wonder what exactly was wrong with her. This was Ranma, her best, no her only friend, so why did she suddenly feel the urge to… 'No!' As if by force, she tore her thoughts away from the path she was straying down, it was a dark one. Making herself look into his eyes, she said,

"I might as well tell you." Ranma bit his tongue hard, to keep from saying the wrong thing. This was not a time to stick his foot in his mouth. "I was sent on a mission, by Cologne."

Akane went into her story, leaving nothing out. She told him about the years she spent in that little back room of hers. She told him about having to leave her family behind, the years of work that was never good enough, the pain of being alone, and of course the journey she was sent on. She told him how she had come to realize what Cologne probably had in mind for that hair, and how she had no idea why Cologne would want to kill him or anything. She talked on and on, mentioning and going over every detail, except the most important one, the reason she hadn't completed her task. She didn't tell him that from the moment she saw him, she knew that she would never go back to Cologne. But then, she didn't yet know that she wasn't going back to Cologne. Probably a good thing too. Because the one thing she had gotten very clearly from Shampoo's broken Japanese was the fact that she was there to keep an eye on her. Make sure she didn't screw this one up. 

At least, that was what she was going to say and she would have said it, had not Shan come back into the yard right after "I might as well tell you." She stopped dead when she saw who was sitting next to Akane. She blinked, once, twice, and a third time.

"He is, Ranma?" Akane, fearful, nodded. "Hello Ranma, I, Shan Pu. It is big pleasure to meet you." Ranma stood up and made sort of a half bow, feeling awkward.

"Hello Shan Pu." Akane stood up also. Shan looked at her. 

"Hey Akane, you look in shape for once. Maybe we have another fight soon." The glint in her eye as she said that was unmistakable.

"Why," asked Akane in a pleasant voice, "you'll just beat me again, like you always do."

"It's a good thing too, otherwise I have kill you." Both the girls smiled; Ranma was confused, he caught nothing but the word, kill. "In fact, why not fight now?"

Shampoo leapt at Akane, Ranma acted without thinking, like he usually does, and stepped in front of her, shielding her. He held out his hand and Shampoo knocked her head against it, falling to the ground. Ranma looked down at her in amazement; Akane looked down at her, then at Ranma. Ranma looked at Akane and was shocked at the expression on her face; it was deep, profound regret.

"She'll be okay Akane," he muttered hurriedly, mis-interrupting the look.

"She will, but you won't." 

"What?" Ranma turned to face her, but Akane's face was a careful mask. Suddenly Shampoo woke up, shaking her head, then she looked at Ranma and leapt to her feet. She flung her arms around him and kissed his cheek.

"Airen!" She cried with joy. "You I love!" Ranma tried to back-peddle and failed, since he had a girl with a death grip attached to him.

"What?!" Akane just shook her head.

*Author's notes- yeah, it's been awhile and in fact, I probably won't finish this story, very busy you know… but you never know. Perhaps my muse might show up if I get lots and lots of reviews (hint hint)


	9. Fixing Mistakes

****

Fixing Mistakes

*Author's Notes- So I've finally updated. I know it's been forever and thanks everyone for your patience. This is the end though. I finally finished it and I don't think it's too bad. I almost lost it though when my computer froze last night, but I turned on the computer today and wa-la! It was right there. I look technology. Enjoy.

The next day Ranma was sitting in the Tendo's living room, trying to figure things out with Akane. Shampoo was still clinging to his back. For some reason this really freaked Ranma out. He didn't understand it, as it was the dearest wish of his mentor to have bosomy women clinging to him. Ranma was a rather shy lad when all's said and done.

"Okay, so why do I have to marry her?" Ranma didn't even try to disguise the panic he was feeling. Akane sighed, looking at him. At almost the same instant she had realized that she loved this boy, Shampoo had given him the Amazon kiss. There was no way that she would let go of him now. 

"It's one of the laws of her village. In her tribe, the women are very proud of being strong. So whenever an outsider beats them they do one of two things."

"Which are?" Asked Ranma.

"If the outsider is female, she gets killed. If the outsider is male… he gets married." Akane finally met his eyes and he was unnerved to see tears there. "I'm sorry Ranma. There is no way to get out of this." 

"What if someone else beats her?" He said desperately. Shampoo was now giving him a backrub and cooing. 

"I… don't know," said Akane. She pondered this option. "I don't think I've ever heard about something like that happening before." A thought darted into her head. "Who are you thinking about?" Ranma looked sheepish.

"Pig-boy." Akane laughed at his response.

"What Akane laugh at?" Shampoo sounded miffed.

"Nevermind Shan Pu." Akane put on an innocent face as Shampoo glared at her.

* * *

"Think Akane, what are you going to do?" She was pacing back and forth while talking to herself. After years of being alone, she had learned that talking to herself was better than talking to no one. There seemed to be two options. She could give Ranma up and let him figure out the Shampoo thing himself. Or she could find another solution. And since there was no way in any of the hells that she was going to give up the guy she loved…

"What am I going to do Akane?" Begged Ranma. Akane shrieked and spun around.

"How many times," she hissed, "do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me?!" Ranma blushed. 

"I'm sorry." Akane, now calm, smiled. 

"It's okay Ranma, I'm just worked up." Ranma screwed up his courage and took her hand. She squeezed it tight.

"We both are," he said tenderly. The gentleness of voice completely undid Akane. She closed the distance between them and hid her face in his shirt. He clumsily put his arms around her. "Akane?" Her hands tightened on his shoulders. He placed his cheek against her hair. "Don't worry my dear, we'll figure something out." Akane drew back. Ranma felt slightly disappointed.

"What… did you say?" She asked haltingly. Ranma thought back.

"Uh… we'll figure something out?" She waved her hand impatiently.

"No before that!" Ranma shrugged his confusion. She looked into his eyes. He noticed that she looked too pale and strained. "You… called me 'my dear'. Did you mean it?"

"Uh…" He looked away and scuffed a foot in the dirt. "Yeah…" 

Akane threw her arms around him again, only this time it was in joy instead of in sorrow.

"I'm so glad my dear," she whispered in his ear. Ranma looked down at her. She looked at him. Their faces were inches apart. Then there was no space between their faces.

Akane made a soft noise and Ranma pulled back, ready to run. Then he noticed that she didn't look at all angry. She opened her eyes, and noticing that he was looking for exits she shook her head.

"This may be the only time we'll ever have to do this Ranma," she said. "Let's enjoy it." Then she pulled him back and he kissed her again. She kissed him back with all the love and anguish inside of her. 

Ranma moved to the ground, pulling her with him. They lay on the grass, desperately locked together. Wishing that the moment would never end and dreading the moment that they'd have to stop. Drawing apart for a moment their eyes met, passion filling them. Suddenly an epiphany came to Akane.

"That's it!" She cried. She looked back at Ranma and kissed him again. This time there was only love. The desperation was gone. Ranma struggled against the hormones that were overpowering his thinking ability.

"What's it?" He gasped when she finally pulled back. She grinned at him and he didn't care what it was. He pulled her down and wrapped his arms even tighter around her. She rolled onto her back and he moved with her. Lying beneath him she twined her arms around his neck and gave herself up to the sensations.

"No," gasped Ranma, finally managing to gather his wits. "Explain what you figured out. It sounded important." She looked up at him, completely content.

"It is important. I know exactly what to do. I'll be free of Cologne, you'll be free of Shampoo, and we can be together." Ranma's eyes widened and he sat up. Now it was Akane's turn to feel disappointed. He turned away from her, trying to slow his beating heart and cool off the rushing fire moving through his veins.

"What… how? What are you going to do?" She moved to him and hugged him from behind. Then she laughed.

"That's the best part. It's so simple. I bring her one of your hairs." Ranma stiffened and flung her arms off. He turned around, angry.

"You want me dead? You going to kill yourself too? Is that how we'll be together?" Akane drew back- away from his anger.

"No… I'd never…" Tears were forming in her eyes. Ranma immediately lost all his anger and knelt down to put his arms around her. "I was going to give her one of the hairs from your female self."

Ranma sat back, the sheer brilliance of the idea hitting him. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"You'll be free of the curse Ranma." Akane took his hands in hers and kissed them. "And Cologne will think that you're dead. Shampoo will think you're dead." Ranma was still in a daze. "It might… it might hurt though."

"I don't care." He looked at her. "I don't care. Anything to get rid of this horrible curse." Akane flung herself at him and they embraced tightly. 

* * *

Akane cast a final glance back at the Tendo residence. In her bag was a vial containing three carefully died black hairs. They had, of course, originally been red. She took a deep breath and took the first steps that take her back to the place where she had been raised. It would be the final time she went there. Shampoo was walking next to her.

"Did Akane say good-bye to family?" Asked Shampoo.

"Yes. I said my good-byes." They continued on silence. 

It didn't take very long to return to the little hut. Cologne hobbled out.

"So, my apprentice, you finally decided to return to me have you?" Akane bowed her head. "Did you at least accomplish your mission?" 

"I have Mistress," Akane answered subserviently as she pulled out the vial. Cologne snatched it, cackling.

"Come then, both of you and you will see what it means to be a Mistress of Magic," she said as she went back into the hut. The two girls followed.

Inside there was a caldron hung in the fireplace. It bubbled and spit little bits of liquid into the air. It smelled awful. It smelled, thought Akane, like death. Cologne opened the vial and carefully pulled out one of the hairs and dropped it into the caldron. Akane waited for something to happen. Nothing did.

Miles away, Ranma Saotome curled up in agony on the dojo floor. Sweat poured from his forehead and he felt as if his head was going to crack into a dozen pieces. Kasumi heard his cries as pain and ran into the room. Nabiki looked up from her account books upon hearing the inhuman screams that were penetrating the walls. Soun Tendo let out a snore and went back to his drunken nap.

Kasumi watched in awe as Ranma separated into two people. The smaller redheaded one lay still. The male Ranma finally managed to catch a breath. A few instants later he was able to sit up and he realized that the pain was gone, completely. As fast as it had hit him it was over. He looked over at the body he had only seen in the mirror. The female version of himself did not move and slowly it began to sparkle and dissolve. In another minute it was gone. There was now no sign that Ranma Saotome had ever been anything besides what he was now.

"Ranma?" Kasumi's voice was shaking as she slowly sat down on the floor. Ranma walked over to her and put a hand on her quivering shoulder.

"It's okay. It's all over. She did it." Ranma smiled at Akane, although he knew she couldn't see him.

"It's over," cackled Cologne. Akane was seized by fear. What if it hadn't worked? What if Ranma was dead anyway?

"Grandmother, what did potion do?" Asked Shampoo. Cologne laughed.

"Ranma is dead." Shampoo froze for one heartbeat, two. Then she wailed. Cologne stared at her for a minute, then muttered some words and Shampoo collapsed onto the ground in a sleeping lump.

"Dead?" Asked Akane, trying to sound confused. 

"Yes, my apprentice. I decided that the best way to weaken my old enemy Happosai was to take away his source of power. Apprentices are good for little more than that." Suddenly things clicked in place for Akane.

"So that's why you never taught me anything." 

"Of course you stupid fool. But I don't need you anymore. I am powerful enough now that I have no need to draw on others for my magical energy." Akane tried to look crestfallen even though she wanted nothing more than to shout her joy. How simple everything was. "So you had better go before I decide to kill you." 

Akane bowed and ran out. She ran back the way she had come. After half an hour she had to stop running and draw breath. She kept walking as fast as she could until she almost dropped from exhaustion. When it grew dark she stopped by a stream and curled up beside it to sleep. 

She was awake again before the sun had risen. She kept walking and would run every so often. Worry and doubt were now competing for the top place in her heart next to joy. She was free of the woman who had held her in bondage for years and she was returning to her love. The only problem was- she wasn't totally sure that her love was still alive. 

Dark was just beginning when Akane stumbled into the Tendo yard. There was a light in the dojo and she crept closer. She looked in the window and a smile appeared on her face for the first time in many hours. There was Ranma, running through a kata. It looked to be the same one that she had first seen him doing. This time though, she didn't wait for him to find her.

Her burst through the door and yelled his name. Ranma turned and caught her in his arms. 

"I was afraid you weren't coming back," he said.

"I was afraid you were dead," she said. They locked eyes and laughed. Their fears seemed so absurd now that they were together again. They closed their eyes and kissed. It would be the first of many kisses in their new life. There would be problems. They still had to get rid of Happosai. There would be disagreements and spats. There would be family problems. But they had each other and that would be enough to get them through.

The End


End file.
